Do you ever read the recipes on the back of the box, any box, of food in your pantry? Those recipes have to be well-tested and appealing. After all, they are designed to help sell more product.

While reading the cardboard of a box of currants, I found a recipe that was full of fiber and sounded healthful and easy to make with ingredients already in the house. I could hardly wait to get into the kitchen.

But my dear brunette and red-bonneted Sun-Maid, couldn't you have come up with a better title than that dumb, generic name? Raisin, Apple and Oat Muffins. Surely you want to market these fruity bundles to the breakfast-in-the-fast-lane crowd -- the one-handed, eat-in-the-car commuters and the kids rushing off to class.

I hereby rename them Bus Stop Breakfast Muffins. With very little batter-y matrix to bind them, powerhouse ingredients are crowded into every bite: currants or raisins, chopped apple, milk, oats, light olive oil and cinnamon.

In an "a-ha!" frame of mind, I then went prowling for other hand-held goodies that could be eaten on the run. With maple season on the horizon, I glommed onto Maple-Walnut Oat Muffins from an old pamphlet. Oats, whole-wheat flour, buttermilk, maple syrup and walnuts. Bingo in the nutrition department again.

PG TESTED

Currants are small and a better size for muffins than raisins but harder to find in some stores. You can peel the apple or not. These are small muffins, but very filling. I iced half of the muffins with a thin confectioners' sugar glaze, and those were eaten first: To make it, add a few drops of vanilla and just enough water to 1 cup confectioners' sugar to make a thinnish glaze; using the tines of a fork, swirl icing in streaks over the muffins.

• 1 cup currants or raisins
• 1 medium apple, peeled or not, and chopped, about 1 cup
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup vegetable or light olive oil
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup quick-cooking oats
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar or coarse raw sugar crystals

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spritz 12 muffin cups with nonstick baking spray or line with paper baking cups. Combine raisins, apple, milk, sugar and oil in a medium mixing bowl.

Stir together flour, oats, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and allspice in a small bowl. Stir into raisin mixture just until combined.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle tops with 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar or sugar crystals. Bake 20 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Makes 12.

-- Sun-Maid Currants box

PG TESTED

You need the white flour here to give the muffins structure. I like a little maple glaze on top of the muffins. To make it, add a few drops of maple extract and just enough water to 1 cup confectioners' sugar to make a thinnish glaze; using the tines of a fork, swirl icing in streaks over the muffins.

• 1 1/4 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1/2 cup all-purpose white flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/4 cup vegetable or light olive oil
• 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spritz 12 muffin cups with non-stick baking spray or line with paper baking cups and set aside. Process the oats in a food processor or blender until they are reduced to a coarse powder; it is fine if some larger flakes remain. Measure exactly 1 cup of the oat flour and combine it in a large bowl with the wheat and white flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Toss to mix.

Beat the eggs in a separate bowl, then blend in the buttermilk, maple syrup and oil. Make a well in the dry ingredients, pour in the egg mixture and stir just to blend. Fold in the walnuts.

Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups. Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden. Wonderful served hot.

Makes 12 muffins.

-- Maple Mornings pamphlet